


Little Things

by leeswaggy



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: But Also Some Angst, Can I make it any more obvious?, Fluff, He Was A Guard, He Was A Thief, M/M, Nwalin moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:34:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29225559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leeswaggy/pseuds/leeswaggy
Summary: They first met in Ered Luin, when they stood on opposite sides of the law, and then they went on a quest together.Just a collection of Nwalin moments, really.
Relationships: Dori & Nori & Ori (Tolkien), Dwalin/Nori (Tolkien)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 13





	Little Things

**Author's Note:**

> If you find any mistakes, please let me know!
> 
> Have fun, I hope you'll enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it <3

It was the little things that made Nori fall in love with Dwalin and it still is the little things that make him s _tay_ in love.

He still remembers the first time they met. Nori was young then, too young to be the most infamous thief in the Blue Mountains really, but that never stopped him from trying. He thought he knew all the guards by then, but _oh_ , there was a new one, and he had big hands and knuckle-dusters that nearly made Nori abandon all thoughts of escape and surrender, but just _nearly_. He let the guardsman chase him through all the secret alleyways and over the roofs of the city, only to leave him standing in the middle of a crowded marketplace, angry and with no chance of finding Nori.

The thief didn’t know if he’d ever felt this alive. He was high on adrenaline, breathing heavily, face flushed, and he just knew he had to meet that guardsman again. He didn’t know why, but that guy felt different than the others – maybe because he was much taller than most dwarves, faster and smarter, but maybe just because he was undeniably handsome. Either way, he caught Nori’s eye and from then on, the thief would do anything just to be chased by that particular guard.

The second time they met was when the guard threw Nori against a wall and growled at him to stay still while he arrested him. Nori, of course, did everything but stay still, which lead to him being pushed harder against the wall with the blade of an axe dangerously close to his throat: “Do it again and I won’t be that gentle.”

A shiver ran down Nori’s spine when he smirked at the guard: “Oh, don’t hesitate, my dear, I like it rough.”

And he really had thought he’d throw the other dwarf off with that comment, but apparently, he didn’t. “Do you? Do you also like these?” He lowered his axe by which Nori obviously wasn’t intimidated enough and brought a fist with his knuckle-dusters close to Nori’s face. The thief had to gather all of his self-control to stop himself from moaning – he didn’t know if the guard would _use_ the knuckle-dusters if Nori did too much, but that didn’t keep him from flirting shamelessly because Mahal, that dwarf was gorgeous. He didn’t let guards arrest him often, usually he slipped away and wasn’t seen again until he was involved in the next theft, but this time, he went with the guard without hesitation. He was thrown in a cell in which he obviously didn’t stay because he had way too many useful tools that helped him escape, but when he was outside, his thoughts kept wandering back to the handsome guardsman.

People kept wondering why Nori was arrested a lot more since then.

Nori and Dwalin – which was the guardsman’s name, as Nori quickly found out – kept crossing each other’s way again and again. One might even claim Nori got arrested by Dwalin on purpose, but what thief in the right mind would do that?

Either way, they met probably more often than any of them would like, and Nori kept flirting and Dwalin kept glowering at him which made Nori like him even more.

Funny enough, Dwalin was related to Thorin Oakenshield, the only dwarf mad enough to want to reclaim Erebor, which Nori found out when he joined Thorin’s quest. He didn’t do it because he wanted to, but because his brothers practically forced him to go, but that’s a completely different story.

Nori really didn’t think they stood any chance – how would they ever reach the mountain? And even if they made it, did everyone forget that there would be a huge dragon waiting for them? But Nori wasn’t going to let his brothers die alone, no, he’d die with them. And apparently, Dwalin would as well, which made the whole thing a great deal more interesting.

For some reason, the mad wizard who convinced Thorin to go on this stupid quest thought they needed a hobbit, which is why all thirteen of the dwarves made their way to the Shire, more precisely to the house of a poor hobbit who was everything but happy to see them. Nevertheless, he did have good food, so they had a rather excessive supper. Nori gladly used the noise and excitement to let some of the silverware disappear in his sleeves, and Dwalin, who was sitting right across the table, definitely watched him but he didn’t do anything. He just let Nori quietly steal his things without saying a word to anyone, and the thief was honestly surprised.

Dwalin continued letting Nori get away with stealing all sorts of things, even at Rivendell when Nori took a lot more than just the silverware (even though he obviously took the silverware as well). At that point, Nori was truly impressed by how _nice_ the guardsman was to him, he hadn’t been visibly angry at him ever since they left the Blue Mountains, and Nori had to admit he liked that more than he probably should. When he quietly let an expensive-looking elven goblet slip into his pocket, he looked Dwalin right in the eye, and Dwalin looked him right in the eye, and he didn’t do anything to stop him. He didn’t even glower.

They had their first kiss right outside Beorn’s house, when it was dark and everyone else was asleep. They had spent the last hours fearing for their lives and Dwalin had saved Nori, more than just once, and that was it for the thief. He was completely, undeniably in love with Dwalin, and he wouldn’t let the guardsman or himself die before they could even _kiss_ , so Nori just went for it, even though he expected to be rejected. But after a few moments of not doing anything, Dwalin brought his hand to the back of Nori’s neck to pull him even closer and they kissed for what felt like hours, or like seconds, Nori honestly had no idea how long they stood out there and kissed and just _were there_ with each other, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

And ever since then, Nori feared for Dwalin every single day. He feared for his brothers as well, of course, he loved them more than anything, but he couldn’t lose Dwalin before they could even properly get to know each other. He stayed close to his brothers and never left Dwalin’s side, just like Dwalin never left his. They didn’t talk about it much, but at night they put their bedrolls close together and slept with their fingers interlocked and during the day they protected each other from any possible danger just like everyone else protected only their own family. They were there for each other and Nori wished it could be like this forever, but he never doubted for a second that all of them would die when they’d reach the mountain, if not before.

When they hid in the barrels to escape the elves, Nori really thought that was it. They wouldn’t be killed by the dragon, they wouldn’t even make it to the mountain, they would just drown in this stupid river because the hobbit didn’t have a better idea than to put them in fucking _barrels_. Nori held on to the sides of his barrel for dear life and tried to spot his brothers and Dwalin, but there was already more water in his face and he couldn’t do anything but focus on not dying there and then. When he thought he’d never see his brothers again, the river became calmer and there was a shore they could actually reach. He swam as if his life depended on it (which it did, really) while still trying to find his brothers, until he saw Ori who struggled to resist the current and who looked like he’d be swept away by the river in the next second. _Oh no_ , not Ori, not the one Nori loved more than anything, not his precious little brother who deserved to see the whole world before he died some day. Nori screamed, tried to get to Ori, but he couldn’t, and just when he thought it was too late, he couldn’t do anything, Dwalin was there and reached for Ori and pulled him out of the river. Dwalin had always known how much Ori meant to Nori and _he saved him_.

Nori’s heart was beating so fast and he was so frightened and so relieved at the same time, he almost forgot to swim, but then he looked at Dwalin and at his brothers and they were _safe_ , the whole company was safe, even the halfling who’d been clinging to a barrel the whole time they were in the river, and Nori pulled himself together and made it to the shore safely. He hugged his brothers and he hugged Dwalin and he was so glad they were all still there.

Despite Nori’s hopelessness, they all made it to the mountain, which was indeed the home of a very large, very _alive_ dragon. They had to split up to distract Smaug, and when Ori went with Dori, Dwalin grabbed Nori’s arm: “You stay with me.” And Nori did and they all made it to the forges and Dwalin watched out for him and protected him and his brothers protected each other and they were alright. When Smaug destroyed Erebor’s front gate and made his way to Laketown, Nori should’ve been heartbroken because of all the people that lived there, but all he could think was _Ori’s alive, Dori’s alive, Dwalin’s alive, we’re all alive. Maybe it’s gonna be alright._

And then the dragon died and for a very short amount of time, Nori really thought they made it. They reclaimed the mountain, got rid of the dragon, and all of them survived.

But then, the battle came. Nori had never fought in battle before and to say he was afraid would be an understatement. He feared for his own life, but much more for the lives of his brothers and Dwalin, and he knew he could do nothing to protect them because he wasn’t a good fighter himself. But then Dwalin took his hand and promised him he’d keep an eye on Nori and his brothers, he’d protect them, and maybe they did have a chance, but the fear never left Nori’s heart.

During the battle, Nori stayed close to his brothers to at least be able to die with them if he had to, but when he lost sight of Dwalin, his heart dropped. He knew Dwalin was a good fighter, better than everyone else in the company, but even good fighters could fall in battle, and Nori couldn’t lose him. When he saw Dwalin and the others make their way up to Ravenhill, he cried because he just _knew_ he’d never see Dwalin again because this was war and war didn’t care about lovers who wanted to spend their lives together.

He cried harder than ever before, but he kept fighting – for himself, for his brothers and, if he was still alive, for Dwalin. His Dwalin.

And _they all made it_. Dwalin came back from Ravenhill, not unharmed but alive and that was all that mattered. Thorin was dead and Kili and Fili were as well, and little Ori sobbed for days because the princes were his friends and Thorin was his friend too, and Nori cried with him because he’d liked them way more than he should as well, and Dori cradled them both in his arms and cried, but they were all alive. It had been the most frightening experience of Nori’s entire life, but all of them made it and all of them are alright, and everything else was not important.

A few days after the battle, when the crying stopped, Dwalin asked Nori to stay with him in the mountain instead of going back to Ered Luin, and Nori cried and whispered “Yes, of course, I’ll stay here with you and if you ever go anywhere else, I’ll follow.”

So he stayed, and his brothers stayed as well, and even though all of them have changed a lot because of everything they’ve been through and it took a while until they could feel genuinely happy again, it was _alright_.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments & kudos are appreciated!


End file.
